Forty-five years - and still going strong!

This evening, my wife and I paid our first visit to the local Pizzeria, here in Gardonne.  The occasion was the celebration of our forty-fifth wedding anniversary, and we are looking forward, as the Rapture is delayed, to many more.

Sadly, we are part of a relatively small number of our own generation to have reached such a milestone.  Marriage has been constantly downgraded over the past thirty years - at least in the UK.  It saddens me that so many, today, are unwilling to enter the bond of marriage; and that so many who have done so are now on their second (or even third!) spouse.  It is even more sad that so many of those people would claim to be disciples of Jesus, and that too many (in my, I believe Biblically-based, opinion) are even in positions of leadership, and pastoral responsibility, within the Body of Christ.  If I find all of that to be so sad, I wonder how Father God views it!

Marriage - and I refer only to the God-ordained union of a man and a woman - is an honourable estate.  It was given, I used to say in the Christian marriage service that I conducted, for the benefit of society which can be strong only where the marriage bond is held in honour.  It was given for the mutual help of the two persons involved.  It was given in order that children, who are a gift from God, should be raised in a stable environment, with a role model of each gender.

Marriage ought not to be, I believe, a temporary state until we find out if we are suited to one another.  That is the purpose of courtship and engagement.  It should not be entered into solely on the basis of a physical attraction - although such a physical attraction will be there.

When it comes to divorce, and remarriage, I do not even need to turn to my Bible - with different interpretations of certain passages being offered.  I simply need to go back those 45 years to the day of my marriage.  As my then fiancée and I stood before our minister, we each promised, God helping us, to be faithful to one another for as long as God gave us life.  We entered into a covenant relationship - with each other, and with Almighty God.  He, and He alone, may break that relationship.

Now, please don't misunderstand me.  I am not suggesting that our married life has been a constant 'bed of roses'.  We have had our ups and downs.  We have had our differences of opinion.  But our common love for the Lord has held us together better than Superglue!

Does this mean that disciples of Jesus who are remarried divorcees, or those who are living together without the commitment that marriage brings, are grieving Father God?   Unless they repent, and deal with the situation, I believe that this is so.  It is certainly, I am convinced, a matter for which they will have to answer when they stand before the Judgment Seat of the Christ.

Meanwhile, I am so glad that the Lord gave me the woman He did give me to be my wife; my companion; my lover; the mother of my children; my constant support and encouragement; and so much more besides.  Every day, I thank Him for her and, as already stated, I look forward, as the Rapture is delayed, to many more years with her - loving one another; caring for one another; sharing with one another; being with one another; and serving Him, both as individuals and as a couple, for as long as He gives us strength and opportunity.

If you are married to your first spouse, regardless of the current length of your marriage, I trust that you are able to say the same!

Dordogne Haiku!

As we drive around the south-west of France, where we now live, my wife and I are often surrounded by vine-yards - field after field of vines, now heavily-laden with grapes that will soon be harvested and, eventually, become fine wines.  The rows are perfectly straight.  The vines are kept well-trimmed - the same height and width all along each row.

It was some weeks ago that my 'poetic' mind came up with a brief stanza:

Regimented rows of vines;
Standing tall and straight
Like Guardsmen on parade
On the Queen's official birthday.

Vineyard in Gardonne.

However, as I continued to reflect on those words, I remembered the Japanese poetic form of the 'haiku'.  This is composed of just seventeen syllables, in three groups - five, seven, and five.  In the English language the groups are usually presented as three lines.  So, having made some changes to my original verse, I present my Haiku to the Dordogne.  The picture, by the way, is the field of vines directly opposite our new home.  Beyond the trees is the river Dordogne, from which the Département takes its name.

Haiku to the Dordogne.

Regimented rows,

Like Grenadiers on parade.

Vines in the Dordogne.

Anchors!

Whilst having lunch with another retired clergyman, and good friend, I mentioned that I love being able to preach a series.  Whether it be working thorough one of the books of the Bible, or following a particular theme, it ensures that I deal with passages, or topics, that I might otherwise avoid.

I was also attending to some "consolidation" this afternoon, as we prepare for our new home in Gardonne to be fully rewired.  I came across a small ring binder in which were the notes from messages that I have shared in the past - most of them at the 'Worship before Work' service that was held, every Monday to Friday, in St.George's-Tron Parish Church, Glasgow, when the late Rev. George B.Duncan was the minister (and I was but a lowly Divinity Student!).

One message 'jumped out at me', and I want to share it here, on my blog, as a brief series!  I read the following verses: "When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of A'dria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. So they sounded and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they sounded again and found fifteen fathoms. And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let out four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, 'Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.' Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let it go." (Acts 27:27-32).

How many anchors have you on board your ship?  Are they strong enough for the day of storm?  Are they fit for the strain of life and death; joy and sorrow; and everything else that may happen on the seas of life?

The faith that some people claim to have is purely a "fair weather" thing - it's strong only when circumstances are favourable!  Because of that, they have constructed their lives on the assumption that they are going to meet nothing else but calm seas and favourable winds.

In that passage from the Book of Acts, we read that the sailors "... let out four anchors from the stern ...".  Over the next four posts, I plan to suggest four anchors that each of us ought to carry on the voyage of life.

Don't forget to follow the series through!

Ivy - and sin (Part 3).

At the back of the house in Gardonne are some fruit trees.  We have a pear tree (sorry, no partridge!); a cherry tree; and two apricot trees!  They all need some TLC, and both pruning and feeding but, next year,we hope that we might have a reasonable crop.  Actually,  I started the pruning of the pear tree, yesterday - and gathered 27lbs of pears in the process.  That is without any care!

However, while one of the apricot trees has a reasonable amount of fruit, the other has next to nothing.  The reason for this is, I suspect (I make no claim to any level of horticultural expertise!) the fact that the bottom half of the trunk was smothered with ivy!  I have managed to remove all of it but, if I am correct, then this demonstrates another aspect of sin.

Perhaps, at this point, I should remind you of the definition of sin!  According to the Shorter Catechism, "Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God."  In other words, sin is not simply 'breaking the law' - although, for example, if I rob a bank; commit murder, or rape; or give false testimony in a court of law; I have sinned.  However, there is much that I do - and much that I fail to do - that does not break human law, but is still sin in the sight of Almighty God!

A major problem with sin is that it usually appears to be attractive!  I am not going to be tempted into a sinful sexual liaison with someone whom I consider to be ugly!  I am not going to be tempted to break into a toy-shop, and steal all of the Monopoly money!  I am not going to car-jack 30-year-old rust-bucket with smoke billowing from the exhaust!  I am only going to be tempted if the woman is, in my eyes, beautiful; if the money that I am able to steal is in a recognised currency; if the car is a latest model of an expensive marque!

However, as the old adage has it "All that glisters is not gold", and that is never more true than when we sin.  I start that affair - and then discover that it costs me my marriage, my home, my family, my personal integrity.  I steal that money - and then realise that I am going to have to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.  I take that car - and find out that I am unable to handle such a high-powered vehicle, as I take a bend in the road at too fast a speed, and end up in hospital (if not the Morgue!).

Just as the ivy sucks the life out of a tree, so sin sucks the very life out of we human beings.  Praise God that there is an answer.  He has promised that "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (I Cor 10:13).

When the Lord Jesus hung on the cross at Calvary, He not only bore your sins, and mine, in His own body (see I Pet.2:24), but He actually became sin (II Cor.5:21), in all of its putrefaction, and ugliness, and nastiness, and blackness.  I believe that it was at that moment in human time that He uttered what is usually referred to as 'the cry of dereliction' - "E'lo-i, E'lo-i, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" which means, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34).  But Mark continues his account: "And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."  That great cry was a single word: "Tetelestai" - "Finished"!  This was not the weak whimper of one who had decided to give up!  It was the mighty shout of triumph of One Who had completed the work that the Father had given Him to do.  And, with the veil of the Temple ripped in two, the way was made open for you, and for me, to enter directly into the presence of the Almighty, Creator God.

Don't let sin suck the life out of you!  You see, it's not just your natural life that is effected, but also your eternal destiny.  The choice is yours - eternity in His nearer presence; or eternity cut off from Him - and aware, too late, of your own foolishness in rejecting, or even neglecting, His claim upon you.  May you, if you have not already done so, "Come to Him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (I Peter 2:4-5).

Ivy - and sin (Part 2).

Okay, so on Thursday I realised that the common plant, ivy, is a picture of sin in human beings.  However, this parasitic plant (I couldn't recall that adjective on Thursday!) had more to teach me.

As I hacked, and pulled, at the ivy surrounding the well-head in our front garden in Gardonne, I quickly realised that we did not have the plain concrete structure of our neighbours.  Someone had, at some time, built around that structure a beautiful, white stone, facade.  Suddenly, I knew that I had a magnificent feature just waiting to be discovered.   With almost all of the ivy now removed, I can assure you that it really is "something else"!

You and I were created by a loving God Who desires us to enter into a personal relationship with Him, through the Lord Jesus Christ (the Second Persona of the Trinity).  However, sin embraces us with its tentacles, and quickly begins to cover up what the Creator has created.   We require to have that sin dealt with before the beauty that is the real 'us' can be seen.  Of course, even that beauty is but a reflection of the Lord Jesus.  That was what some of us used to sing:

"Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me;
All His wonderful passion and purity.
Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine
'Til the beauty of Jesus be seen in me." (Albert Orsborn/Tom M. Jones).

There is a certain, self-styled, pastor who has a great following - particularly among women - and who has claimed that she no longer sins!  (Crazy mad Woman Joyce Meyer Claims She is no Longer a Sinner – Sinless Perfection Heresy).  However, in making such an outrageous claim, Mrs (Millionaire) Meyer is directly contradicting the written Word of God.  Listen to the apostle, John:  "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (I John 1:8).  Indeed, the 'beloved disciple' goes even further: " If we say we have not sinned, we make Him (i.e. God) a liar, and His word is not in us." (I John 1:10).  You see, Mrs Meyer has made a fundamental mistake (actually, she makes a lot of fundamental mistakes!).  The Bible does not teach that, as a disciple of Jesus, I am righteous and, therefore, sinless.  Yes, I am accounted righteous in the sight of Almighty God, but that is because I have been justified (see the relevant chapter in Great Words of the Faith) by His grace, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus!

This is the wonderful truth: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9).  However, that confession needs to be a daily exercise, because I am a sinner.  Paul who, like John, may be considered to be more trustworthy than a millionaire (actually, multi-millionaire) 'prosperity-gospel' preacher, testifies: "... I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." (Rom 7:18-19).  The ivy of sin does not let go easily, and we need to come, on a daily basis (at least!) and seek the help of God the Holy Spirit that we may be sanctified (chap. available in Great Words!) - made more like Jesus!

When I get the study in our new home up and running, a little printed notice will be going back up on a wall.  I believe it to be a Brian Ross "original".  It reads, simply, "In this life, I will never be sinless but, by the grace of God, I may sin less"!  As I do, more and more of the beauty of Jesus will be seen in me.

There was one more lesson from my dealings with ivy on Thursday, but that's all for now, folks.  Just be sure that you deal with the ivy that is hiding what Father God wants you to be, seeking His help, day by day.

Ivy - and sin!

Today, I spent almost five hours in the front garden of our new home in Gardonne.  I knew that there was a well there - as in the front gardens of the next-door-neighbours on either side - and assumed that, like theirs, the top would be plain concrete.  I couldn't immediately tell, as it was covered with ivy - that virulent, pervasive climber that can choke the life out of a tree.  I recalled a little song that my late mother would sing when I was a child:

Dozy dotes, and maresy dotes, and little lamsy tivy.
A kidilee tivytoo, wouldn't you?

It was many years before I worked out that the strange language was really very simple:

Does eat oats, and mares eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy.
A kid'll eat ivy, too; wouldn't you?

I would have been delighted if some little lambs, and some kids (as in young goats!) had appeared, today.

However, as I gradually cleared the ivy from around the well-head, I realised that there were a number if similarities between ivy, and sin!  The first one that caught my attention was the way in which the ivy clings to its host - whatever that may be.  As I tugged, and pulled, I found it extremely difficult to get the stems away from the well-head.  I was reminded of the words of the inspired writer of the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb.12:1-2; emphasis added).

That's one of the problems with sin.  The ivy around the well-head didn't all appear overnight.  It will have started as a small plant but, left unchecked, it grew stronger and stronger until it needed such great effort to remove it.  Few, if any, commit serious sins without having first committed sins that didn't really seem to matter.  I wonder if anyone has ever researched, e.g., a bank robber - and discovered that, years before, that person had stolen money from his mother's purse; that he had obtained employment, but had regularly purloined company funds; that he had mugged many a person, and stolen their wallet/purse!

Such criminal activity is, of course, a sin against the other person involved - the victim.  However, Judaeo/Christian teaching is that all sin is primarily against God.  David, the shepherd-king of Israel knew this.  Having entered into an illicit sexual relationship with Bathsheba; and having tried to cover his wrongdoing by having her husband killed in battle; he was confronted by the prophet, Nathan (see II Samuel 12).  He wrote a song to display his repentance and, in it, are these words: "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified in Thy sentence and blameless in Thy judgment.   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Ps.51:3-5; emphasis added).

David now realised that he had sinned - and done so grievously - but he also knew that while both Bathsheba and Uriah had suffered, it was God's own character that had been besmirched!

You and I are both sinners - every bit as much as David.  We may not have committed adultery, or plotted the murder of another person, but we have broken God's law, and we deserve His just punishment.  That punishment is an eternity separated from Him.  That may not seem important to some, right now.  However, when they stand before His Judgement Throne, and are cast out of His presence, they will wish that they had listened to people like me!

Of course, there is a remedy!  In the Persona (see Great Words of the Faith; chapter on The Trinity) of the Son, He took the punishment that you and I deserve.  He paid the price, that we might go free.  Have you responded to His amazing offer of salvation?  If not, then why not do so right now?  You will find a couple of helpful links if you scroll down and, of course, if I can be of any assistance at that personal level, please do not hesitate to contact me via the e-mail address above.  Remember, like the ivy, the longer you leave it, the more difficult it is to deal with.

"Working together with Him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain.  For He says, 'At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation.'  Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (II Cor 6:1-2; emphasis added).